Week 3 Reading Diary, continued: Ramayana [PDE]

Ramayana Online: by various authors

Now, in the last twenty sections of the Ramayana, I get to see how everything works out. One character that really stood out to me was Kumbhakarna who was really depicted well as a scary demon who fed on humans, deer, and rivers of wine. He would sleep for 6 months and wake for 1 day to feast before he was overtaken by sleep once more. When the rakshasas woke him up and he was told of Rama, he feasted and then immediately went to fight Rama. I loved that despite this beast's great power, Rama still came out victorious!

Another important scene was the killing of Indrajit at the hands of Lakshmana. It was a good thing that Ravana was dissuaded from killing Sita as revenge. However, that just makes him want to get revenge for his son even more. I was so worried that Ravana had indeed killed Lakshmana but he was eventually saved by a physician!

My favorite part of this section was the ultimate battle, at last: Rama vs. Ravana. Despite the fierce Ravana's attempt to thwart his enemy, the mighty Rama comes out victorious at last. GO RAMA!!

The defeat of Ravana (Wikimedia Commons).

Following the battle, I thought I would see a loving, overjoyed, impatient Rama waiting for his Sita. I did not expect the questioning of her loyalty or wrongdoing while being in Ravana's company. In the end, Sita did prove her innocence and Rama acknowledges that, only requesting she prove herself so others don't assume Rama was "moved by desire" in reclaiming her. It was an interesting scene because it was completely not what I had in mind when I pictured their reunion.

The part of the story we were all hoping for did finally happen, though. Rama being crowned King. It was a long, tiring 14 year journey of strife and battles but Rama was able to take his rightful place as ruler of Ayodhya at long last.

I was very, very surprised at the ending of this epic, with Sita's exile, her return, the Earth taking her, and Rama's eventual departure as well.

Overall, this was such a wonderful epic filled with suspense, drama, love, struggle, and victory. I enjoyed learning about all the characters and their fascinating stories! It is a great piece of work!